Next week I was planning to set off on a trek through the West Bank in Palestine. My aim was to experience the culture and natural delights of the countryside in this often misunderstood area of the world. Walking with little in the way of a plan and no guide.

This morning I received this message from a friend of mine who runs the travel security support business How Safe Is My Trip? In blue is my response.

This puts me in a very different situation to any I’ve been in before. There is an increased risk of being the target of attacks due to the comments some bloke with fake tan and a rubbish haircut made in a country that isn’t where I’m from.

I’m unsure what to do.

On one hand, I think that in the rural areas I will almost certainly be ok. I can avoid Jerusalem and if there is any trouble I will do my best to keep my head down and get away from the area. On the other hand is the possibility of being caught up in possible riots and attacks worth it?

So far I have only paid £30 for a return flight to Israel so it is not a big financial loss if I do not end up going. There are plenty of options. I could trek in Israel only and miss out the West Bank. Or I could go to a completely different country. The real point I must take from this is that I am in a lucky position where I can make these choices. It’s a privileged place to be. Many others from countries such as Syria, Libya and Yemen will not have the freedoms that my passport grants me.

I still want to do something outdoors and in a new environment just before I head to England for Christmas. The thing is with the Middle East in general, this could all blow over in a week and almost be forgotten. Equally, it could be the spark that triggers increased violence and attacks in Palestine and Israel.

Decision Time

I visited Israel two weeks ago and had a great time being a tourist. Wandering through the Old City and soaking up the atmosphere. Visiting the Holly sites that are important to Christians, Jews and Muslims all within a kilometre square. Jerusalem is a fantastic example of a city where people from all faiths and backgrounds peacefully live side by side. For peace to continue, all the people involved need to be satisfied. The Palestinians will never accept that the whole of Jerusalem is the Capital City of Israel. They believe they also have ownership of the City.

The Old City of Jerusalem

Israel, Palestine or somewhere else?

I’m not sure if I will head back there this month. Especially with it being so soon after my last visit. Maybe its time to visit somewhere completely different. There are plenty of places offering cheap flights in December from Cyprus. Lebanon and Georgia are two destinations that have caught my eye. I have a week to make my final decision.

The UK has many fantastic long distance walking trails to offer. If you already live in the UK, you may not even realise that you are surrounded by all of this beauty.

In December 2016 I decided to make my own trail from my home in Wiltshire to Yorkshire. I spent most of this adventure on busy roads so I thought I would compile a list of walking routes that take you away from the roads and into the wild. There is no shortage of trails that take you away from the busy roads and into the wilderness. This list is far from definitive and is set in no particular order. If there are any trails that you think should be in this top 5, it would be awesome if you could write a comment below.

5. The West Highland Way

The West Highland Way is one of the most magnificent areas of the UK. Stunning high mountains, lowland moors, dense woodland and rolling hills. This wide variety of environments provides habitats for a diverse range of wildlife species. You can expect to see a variety of deer, the mountain hare, otters, foxes, badgers and even the Scottish wildcat.

May is the most popular month to attempt this route but it also means there is more demand for accommodation at that time. Anytime in spring and autumn will be especially beautiful. I took the photo above in November and as you can see, I had clear skies for miles.

Most people walk the West Highland Way from south to north. The reason being, the southern stages are easier than the north so a walker will be more prepared for the more demanding hills. As the route is completely in Scotland you are able to wild camp freely due to the Scottish outdoor access code. For those that are new to wild camping, here is a link to my guide to wild camping for beginners.

4. The Coast to Coast

View west from the Cleveland Way at Live Moor (near Heathwaite, North Yorkshire, England) at the Eastern side of the Coast to Coast. By James F. Carter – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, Link

This route is high on my list. I’ve yet to complete it but I lived on the route in the North Yorkshire for a short period and loved bumping into the c2c walkers when I was out on a run. The route was popularised by Alfred Wainwright and passes through the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors. It is one of the most popular routes in England, even though it doesn’t officially have National Trail status. Most people attempt the walk heading west to east. This takes advantage of the prevailing winds that should also go from west to east and keeps the evening sun out of your face. The first few days can be quite tough as you will be heading through the hills of the lake district. This is definitely on the list of walks for the future. Don’t take this walk for granted 190 miles is a tough distance to cover and the weather in the north of England can be bad, to say the least.

The route was popularised by Alfred Wainwright and passes through the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors. It is one of the most popular routes in England, even though it doesn’t officially have National Trail status. Most people attempt the walk heading west to east. This takes advantage of the prevailing winds that should also go from west to east and keeps the evening sun out of your face. The first few days can be quite tough as you will be heading through the hills of the lake district. Don’t take this walk for granted. 190 miles can be a tough distance to cover and the weather in the north of England can be miserable to say the least.

Steeped in history, this National Trail follows the mountain tops along the rugged backbone of England and offers 268 miles of the finest upland walking in England. A once in a lifetime experience.

The Pennine Way has a fearsome reputation. It is one of the most remote walks in the UK with bags of hills and boggy moorland. Just like the Coast to Coast, the weather can be unpredictable at best and torrential the rest of the time. A decent pair of waterproofs and gaiters are highly recommended as you will be walking through plenty of mud and bog.

All of this adds to the greatness of the walk. Once you complete it, you will feel a real sense of pride and achievement. Beginners are best to start with an easier walk such as the West Highland way before attempting the Pennine Way.

2. The Ulster Way

The Ulster Way was the brainchild of Wilfrid Capper MBE who in 1946 had the inspiration to create a circular walking route taking in the six counties of Northern Ireland. The route was originally planned to be a walking link between the ring of Youth Hostels which used to encircle Northern Ireland. There were about 15 hostels in total, sited in the most scenic areas, and the idea was that walkers could plan to tour the country sleeping in a different place each night.

There are 411 miles of “quality sections” on the Ulster Way. The Quality Sections provide a truly quality walking experience. They are mainly on the already established Waymarked Ways which are predominantly off-road and pass through Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

214 miles of the Ulster way are links sections between the quality sections. The link sections are mainly on busy roads. Walk Northern Ireland actively encourages people to use public transport for these sections. Having spent many days walking on busy roads in the UK, I would recommend avoiding these link sections and saving your time for the beautiful parts of the walk. However, if you are set on completing the whole route, downloadable maps are available for the link sections on the walk NI website.

1. South West Coast Path

The SW coast path is for many, the ultimate walking trail in the UK. 630 miles of epic coastline in one of the most beautiful areas the UK has to offer. Many people spend days out on sections of the path but few have the time and dedication to complete the whole route.

If you manage to walk the entire length of the path, it is an amazing achievement that will live long in the memory.

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To trek, hike, plod, march, trudge, tab, yomp. Whatever label you choose to use, put simply it is walking (throughout this post I will refer to it as trekking, purely for continuity). Something humans have done for 200,000 years. It is the purest form of human powered transport. Requiring minimal equipment and little formal lessons and training. It’s a great feeling, being completely self-sufficient on the road, relying on nothing but your feet to get you from A-B.

I will give you all the information you need to head out on your first solo trekking expedition.

If you do find it useful, please be a hero and share or even better leave a comment with your advice or experiences.

Preparation

‘Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail’ said somebody in the Army one time.

As you are still reading this post it is likely that you’re sat in front of your laptop, tablet or phone thinking ‘I would love to go on a solo trek someday. But am I prepared? I don’t know where to start.’

Bingo!

You’ve come to the right place.

Everybody started as a novice once upon a time. Even the experts such as polar explorers, Everest conquerors, survival experts and special forces soldiers were beginners at one point.

This post will cover the following topics:

Medical

Fitness

Mental toughness

What equipment to pack?

The most important items

Sleeping

Safety

Final thoughts and tips

Medical

The first aspect you need to consider is the capability of the device you wish to complete the expedition with. Your body.

Walking/trekking is a repetitive action. Over a period of time and with added weight, it can lead to injuries. Before heading off to complete any long distance solo treks I would advise you to have a medical check-up with your doctor. If you have any injuries or health issues, a doctor can advise you on what you can safely do. If you are fit and healthy you are ready for the next step.

Fitness

You don’t need to be super fit to trek large distances. Trekking fitness is best attained by……Trekking! If you are a complete novice, start with low distance and a steady pace.

Take a slow 4km trek with zero kit and equipment, a few times a week. Each week increase your trekking distance by 1 km until you are able to complete 10km. There is no need to trek too fast too soon. Keep a steady 4-5km per hour pace. Once you can trek 10km in under 2hr 30min with ease, try carrying a light backpack. Start with 5kg (roughly 2 litres of water a waterproof jacket and jumper). Again increase the weight gradually. Add 1kg per week until you are able to trek with 15kg for 10km in under 2hr 30 min on fairly flat terrain.

Once you are at this level of fitness, you will be able to continue to gradually add more distance and weight. A word of caution. If you add too much weight, too soon, you are likely to become injured and this is the last thing we want. Continue to mix your treks up. Add a trek over hilly, rough terrain. Go for a trek on the beach. Enjoy a grassland stroll. Ultimately you should aim to enjoy trekking. Go and explore new places to keep it fresh.

Worse case is you will get fit on your solo expedition. If you start fit, it will just make trekking slightly more comfortable to start with and reduce your chance of injury. It doesn’t mean that you need to be in peak physical shape to go on a solo trek.

Mental Toughness

This is something that is often overlooked. People who don’t complete long distance treks are usually fit enough. It is often mental toughness they lack. Not being stubborn and giving up. Long distance trekking is tough. If it wasn’t everyone would be doing it. What makes solo trekking tough is relying purely on your own motivation and not that of anybody else.

Other tough aspects of trekking solo are having nobody to talk to for long periods of your journey. Not sharing the experience with anybody else. If you get ill or injured, having nobody to help immediately. The blisters. Chafing. Not washing for days.

Still, want to go?

There are ways to negate some of these issues. I find that posting my progress on social media or in this blog a good way to share my experiences. But even this can be tough. After walking all day, who wants to sit down and type a semi-coherent post about your miserable blisters, chaffing, hunger and smelly clothes? Sometimes posting a short video can fill this void but this isn’t for everyone. Often you won’t have signal, coverage of the battery power.

Other people like to disconnect completely. It’s a beautiful feeling in this modern age, to fully disconnect. To have no emails, requests or notifications. Leaving the nagging draw for our attention.

What I love about being alone on a trek is the freedom and space. Making decisions that only effect you at that moment. Being able to be completely spontaneous without consulting anyone. I find strangers talk to me more frequently when I’m trekking alone. If I want to share my story I can. If not that is also OK.

Basically, you can do what you want (within reason, decency and the laws of your country).

Do not underestimate the mental toughness required to trek solo for a long period of time. The only way to find out if you have it is to expose yourself to situations where you are tested.

What equipment to pack?

Some people are obsessed with kit and equipment. Having the latest £200 softshell jacket, snazzy GPS devices, Gortex jackets with pockets and functions I didn’t even know existed and having down sleeping bags that cost a small fortune and weigh as much as a 6 pack of eggs.

In contrast, I have been trekking in Nepal with local porters that wear trainers that were probably made in 1993. For a waterproof jacket, they used a clear plastic bag. They didn’t use sleeping bags. Instead, they slept with blankets. Socks were a luxury.

This shows that expensive items are not an absolute necessity.

Personally, I sit in the middle. I appreciate quality products that make life easier. If I can justify that the price will make a significant difference to my comfort. The more money you spend on an item usually means:

More comfort

Lighter

The most important items.

Rather than list all of the items to take on a trek, I am going to focus on just 3 (if you want to see what I took to Nepal, check out the list here). I believe that the key items of equipment that make a big difference to your levels of comfort on a trek are:

Boots

Sleeping bag/bivvy bag

Rucksack

These three things will be used every day. They will become your trusted friends, especially if you are on the road alone.

Boots

Very much down to personal preference. I wear Salomon Quest 4D 2 GTX Boots. They do the job but I would also recommend Altberg boots. These are made in Yorkshire and I’ve worn them for years.

The fit of a boot is more important than the brand. Where possible, go and try them out in the shop whilst wearing the socks that you plan to trek in.

To Gortex or not to Gortex

That is the question. Gortex boots can be a godsend when the weather is boggy and wet. A wet sock is a sure way to a miserable day. But they are usually warmer and heavier.

I personally wear Gortex trekking boots. Most of my treks are in wet conditions so for me it keeps my feet more comfortable. If you are going to be trekking in hot weather with minimal risk of getting wet, go for the non-gortex.

Sleeping bag/Bivvy Bag

An essential piece of equipment. I’ve recently converted to using a down sleeping bag. Benefits of a down bag are its lightweight to warmth ratio. Do not get it wet though, otherwise you’ll be in for a cold night sleep.

A bivvy bag is a large waterproof bag that goes over your sleeping bag. It keeps you dry and adds warmth. I could write a whole post about sleeping bags and bivvy bags. Others have and have done a great job, far better than I could. Check out:

Rucksack

For a solo expedition, you need to be able to balance carrying your equipment with being lightweight. You need to ensure you carry enough equipment that you are safe but also not to overload your pack. It’s a fine balancing act that can take multiple trips to perfect.

Again, the fit and size in personal. As long as it’s comfortable to your body and can carry all of your required kits it’s good to go.

Chris Townsend has written some fantastic articles about lightweight backpacking. His website also has examples of the kit he packs on solo trekking expeditions. Here is the link:

Safety

This is probably the most important aspect of this post. It is only natural to be apprehensive about heading out on a solo trek. The risk is higher than if you are in pairs of in a group but there are a number of actions you can take to reduce the risk:

Carry a sufficient first aid kit and know how to use it. Attend a first aid class if needed. Nothing replaces knowledge. For a comprehensive first aid kit list, check out this post by Andrew Skurka.

Be fully vaccinated for the country you are travelling.

Check in regularly with friends and family. If going somewhere remote consider taking a satellite phone.

Walking with the wounded (WWTW) are a charity that raises funds to retrain and re-skill wounded veterans and support them in finding new careers outside the military. Over Christmas, they run a campaign called ‘Walking Home for Christmas’. People are encouraged to walk home from their place of work, in groups or as individuals, to raise money for the charity.

I heard about the campaign through a post on social media. At the time, I was based in Warminster, Wiltshire with my job in the Army. After a quick google search of the distance from Warminster to my home town of Beverley, I thought it would be an interesting challenge.

220 miles. Challenge set!

The walking route (roughly) from Wiltshire to Yorkshire.

Committing

Once I had created the just giving page and published my plans to the world through the medium of social media, there was no backing out. Not without looking like an absolute wally.

I wanted to make the adventure challenging. To feel nervous before setting off, not knowing that success was certain. My challenge was to complete 220 miles in 10 days carrying 30kg of warm kit, a cold weather sleeping bag and military rations and water. To increase the challenge and reduce costs, I was to wild camp each night. In an attempt to reduce the weight I was carrying, I decided not to take a tent, just a heavy military bivvy bag.

Before I had set off on the road, I had managed to raise £660 for WWTW. My initial target was £750, so to almost be there was fantastic.

The first few days

The first few days were probably the hardest. My back was pretty sore from carrying the weight and my feet had a couple of blisters between my toes. Nothing too serious though and this was to be expected.

Bearing set.

In an attempt to stay off the roads as much as possible, I set my compass to a hard bearing of 0700 mils to East Yorkshire. Taking the scenic route proved to be unsuccessful. After spending two hours trying to get through thick thorn bushes and rivers I decided to stick to the quicker, but boring and more dangerous roads that span the length of England.

I quickly got into the swing of things and walking became my routine. Walk, eat, sleep, repeat.

Motorways and darkness

My target was to complete at least 22 miles per day. Some days were more successful than others but I managed to achieve this target every day, regardless of how I felt. I didn’t finish most days until 9 pm. This meant I spent most of the time walking in darkness due to the short winter days. There is nothing worse than been tired, wet and hungry, walking down an A road into speeding traffic in the dark.

I listened to a shed load of System of the Down whilst walking in the dark. It gave me the courage (or stupidity) to walk headfirst into traffic and keep up the pace to get the miles done.

Motorways are horrible places. You can hear a busy motorway a good 5 miles before you arrive at it. Throughout the adventure, I used motorways as milestones to tick off along the route. I crossed 4 in total, the M4, M40, M6 and the M1. All are equally littered and disgustingly loud places. If you are ever to take a walk through England, avoid motorways when possible.

After walking along roads for 10 days you spot a lot of things that you wouldn’t notice when you are travelling at 60 mph in a car. Litter and roadkill are the most prominent and obvious things. I would, on average, see 3 dead animals a day. From badgers, foxes, cats, crows and even rats. Pretty grim.

Passing just one of the many busy Motorways on the adventure. The picture was taken using my Samsung phone.

Fundraising

Promoting your chosen cause for charity is more difficult than I appreciated. Especially when you have a full-time job and (only) have 343 Facebook friends and 127 followers on twitter to promote your fundraising page.

Initially, I felt bad asking people to donate to a charity, especially at Christmas time. But after seeing the generosity from friends and strangers, I felt that creating an opportunity for people to donate to WWTW was a good thing.

The amazing community at a picket in Grantham. They are campaigning to save their local hospital. They kindly filled my pockets with cakes and gave me soup.

Facebook turned out to be the most successful tool at promoting the charity and my progress. It would only take a couple of minutes a day to take a picture and send a quick update. My family appreciated knowing where I was, even if some of my friends were fed up of seeing me pop up in their new feed.

Looking back at the progress by day makes me really happy that I didn’t decide to jack it in when it started getting tough at about the halfway point. The steady inflow of money was a huge source of morale whenever I stopped to check the fundraising page. To have raised this amount at Christmas time, for a walk through England was pretty amazing.

Wild camping in England is much easier than most people think.

Best bits from the journal

Throughout the adventure, I kept a journal. I logged how I was feeling (usually tired and sorry for myself) and the amount I had raised for WWTW. I also logged my mileage and the time. This helped to create a reference for each day. For example, I knew that I had to do 6 miles before 1200 in order to do 22 miles a day.

Here are my favourite entries from the journal:

Arrived at Chippenham – Sat in a tunnel – Could happily sleep here.

Pros: Dry, some light.

Cons: Busy, should do more miles.

Just had some teenage girls, gobbing in the tunnel – not sleeping here.

Good points – At £850! An old man at the Waitrose near Malmesbury gave me £5 towards the charity.

Bad points – It’s almost dark. I need to do at least 10 more miles. Cycling is much easier than walking. The pressure is a killer!

Walking on A roads at night is shit!

If I die it will be because of this.

Walking on A roads, in general, is shit!

I haven’t seen much of the Cotswolds due to the fog.Just had a lovely sit down on a real toilet in a cafe.

I will do this, it’s not too hard. It’s just walking with a small child on my back. I have very tired legs.

Slept next to a river last night. I dipped my legs in for an ice bath. Too cold!

Paid £3 for a coke. Robbing gits.

Last night I slept by the canal – away from traffic but not civilisation. Somebody was shining a torch near me from the canal. I didn’t care, I just needed sleep.

When possible, I stayed away from the roads.

I want to get off the A roads of death.

The girl behind the bar is a hot red head.

I’ve found an old, derelict barn shed with some dry hay. There is some shelter above me. I’ve slept in much worse places.

Some people turned up at the barn at 1030pm. Was a bit scary. Stayed quiet and fell asleep. Just banged my head on a metal pole after going for a poo. Bloody hurts!

The save Grantham Hospital group gave me soup and cake. Made my day.

A kind man in Lincolnshire just stopped and gave me a pack of Worthers originals and Trebor xxx mints. He also donated £25 online. How kind.

One of the best wild camping spots I have ever found.

Lessons from the road

Fundraising is hard.

Doing an adventure for a charity gives you an extra bit of motivation.

Social media is an effective ‘tool’ for fundraising.

Picking a smaller charity that means something to you is important. WWTW would phone me daily for updates and arrange press. This was very helpful and increased my motivation.

People are generous.

99% of people are kind.

Walking is immersive due to the slowness.

Walking is much harder than cycling.

Walking on roads, especially busy ones, is horrible.

Walking alone can be boring but also at the same time liberating.

Pack light. I didn’t and ended up ditching some warm kit. Lighter is better.

You can survive with very little money. Water is nearly always available for free in the UK. As is electricity.

Not having enough portable charging was a pain. Use solar panels or another source of power in the future.

You don’t have to travel to far away lands for a real adventure.

Filming a walking adventure is difficult, especially when you are alone. I’m not sure if I will ever end up editing my footage.

Doing radio interviews had mixed success. I probably did a little too many. Some radio presenters are great at plugging the charity. Some are pants.

Ethiopia is a beautiful country with bags to see, eat and do. It is also crazy at times and can be frustrating to the traveller not used to the African way of life.

In this post, I will write about my experience after spending four days in Ethiopia. I will write about some of the brilliant things I saw and will go into some of the mistakes I made so if you are to do a similar trip you won’t repeat them.

Sport is something that breaks barriers. The pitch isn’t too dissimilar to the school pitches I played on in the Yorkshire during PE lessons.

I travelled to Ethiopia after spending three months working in Cairo, Egypt. Ramadan had just come to an end and Eid was about to begin so I was keen to escape the madness of Egypt. Four days in any country is a very short amount of time to really get a feel for the place. However, I hope my experience in Ethiopia shows that it is possible to embrace the culture and see some fantastic sights in such a short time. During this trip, I travelled with a friend from the British Embassy in Cairo.

Planning and Flights

When planning what to do and where to go, as always, I came up with a few itineraries. http://wikitravel.org/en/Ethiopia is a great place to start and I often use this site to research any locations I am travelling to. The cheapest way to get into Ethiopia from Egypt is the Cairo to Addis Ababa flight. I flew with Egypt Air but Ethiopian Airlines also fly this route at a competitive price.

I travelled to Ethiopia during the wet season. The travel guides do not recommend this but I found it enjoyable after spending three months in the blistering heat of Cairo. I also found there were fewer tourists around which I found to be a bonus.

I decided I wanted to visit a less touristy location and do some trekking in the mountains so I decided to go to the Simien Mountains. Lalibela will have to wait for another day.

After landing in Addis Ababa in the early hours of the morning, we decided to get an early flight to Gondar. This was an internal flight with Ethiopian Airlines and was fairly cheap (£100 return). I booked this online as I didn’t have time to buy the flights at a cheaper rate in Addis but it was still fairly well priced.

If it’s made from Spring Water it must be good for you…right?

Gondar

After landing at the small town of Gondar in the early morning we jumped into one of the local taxis to go from Gondar Airport to Gondar town centre. It cost around 150 birr (approx £5.20 or $6.70) and took 30 minutes. It was easy enough to get a taxi and only took a little haggling to get him down to that price.

We asked to go directly to the bus station. The bus station is crazy! As soon as us “faranji’s” (the word used by the Ethiopians to describe a white, western tourist) stepped out of the taxi we were swarmed by locals trying to usher us into their buses and taxis. Having lived in Egypt for three months we were both used to being hassled by locals so took it in our stride. We ignored the crowd around us and headed to the biggest most battered bus. Our destination was Debark, the gateway town into the Simien Mountains.

The bus was full to the rafters. We were the only obvious tourists on there with the locals that use the bus regularly. It was really cheap to get the bus to Debark. We paid around 30 birr (£1.05 or $1.30) which was an absolute bargain. The bus took around 3 hours and was a great welcome to Ethiopia. The route from Gondar to Debark is a decent quality road with great views of the farmland and rural life.

The bus from Gondar to Debark. It was a cramped journey as all the spare space is filled.

Debark

Debark is the gateway to the Simien Mountains. We were keen to spend as little money as possible so didn’t book anything with a tour company as we felt it was unnecessary and expensive. Saying that we were both fairly experienced in hiking, spending time in the mountains and with African travel so if you are a beginner or slightly nervous it is probably best to book through a travel company.

We headed to the HQ of the National Park to check in and pay any mandatory fees. It is worth printing off your own maps of the Simien Mountains (just print the ones from google images, they are as good as anything you can get in the country) before you go to Ethiopia as the mapping in Debark is pretty terrible. The websites below have enough information between them to get you to Debark with a plan of what you want to do in your time frame. They also have the address of the HQ, possible routes you can follow and prices. We found the prices slightly inflated than those on the website but this is one of the frustrations of Ethiopia:

The town is small enough and the HQ is easy to find. If in doubt just ask a local but be prepared for them to try to sell you something in return for information.

A street in Debark. There is a real sense of community here that you do not often see in the Western world.

We knew we would require a scout but we didn’t really want to pay for a guide. A scout is a local man who follows you around and carries a rifle. Initially, it felt quite unnecessary to have a scout but looking back he was definitely worth having. We felt the guides in the HQ were trying to rip us off, so we decided to head to our first camp with just a scout.

Our scout spoke little English but we could communicate regardless. He loved the Egypt Air blanket we gave him so much he wore it throughout the trip.

The Simien Mountains – Day One

As we were only in Ethiopia for four days, we had to maximise our time. We landed in Addis Ababa at around 0200 and by 1400 the same day we were in Debark, about to set off for our first day of hiking.

We did a short hike of around 20km to Buyit Ras. Buyit Ras lodge is a small brick building with three rooms and a few beds in it. The local girls that work/live there can cook up some rice or pasta for you for a very small price. They also sold some beers and soft drinks there. This is the perfect place to stay in the wet season for a budget traveller. For those with an unlimited budget, you can stay at the nearby Simien Lodge but this is very pricey when compared to Buyit Ras. Buyit Ras lodge was fantastic. There were beds with duvets (silky and scratchy but we didn’t care) and the girls went above and beyond to make us feel welcome. The whisky we had brought from duty-free was very well received here.

The walk from Debark to Buyit Ras takes you through the lowlands of the Simien Mountains. More beautiful views are found higher in the mountains but the lowlands have a different charm and appeal that shouldn’t be missed. You get a feel for how the local communities live in this area as you pass through farm after farm on a steady uphill climb. My trekking partner for this journey struggled with the altitude and the weight of his kit so you need to be at an above average level of fitness to truly enjoy the route.

After a few beers and whiskies. Not too sure how we ended up with the rifle…

The scout spoke very little English but was more than capable of directing us to Buyit Ras. We paid for his accommodation and also fed him throughout the trip. I am not sure if that is what you are meant to do or not but I felt like he was one of “my men” so we had to keep him fed and watered. In all honesty, we were more like his men but our Faranji status made us feel like we should look after him.

That day we only trekked for an afternoon but it was still tough going. Often tourists that are short on time get a vehicle to take them all the way to Sankaber lodge but I would not recommend that. The lowlands were a real delight and I would highly recommend a day of hiking through them.

The lowlands. A great first day of trekking.

The Simien Mountains – Day Two

Our route for day two was to go from Buyit Ras to Sankaber lodge. This is a fairly steady 20km of trekking. We were pretty hungover after drinking two litres of Jameson whisky between two of us and plenty of local beers (St George beers go down well after a long day of trekking). Still, we got up at 0700 ready to tackle the second day of trekking. My trekking partner was feeling pretty stiff and couldn’t carry his kit for day two. Rather than carrying his kit again, he paid a local Ethiopian to use his pack-horse. He actually paid for two horses. One horse for him to ride and another to carry his kit. Seeing as we had a couple of horses I also offloaded my heavy rucksack and put it onto the pack-horse.

Having a quick ride on the horse.

If you are on a tight budget I wouldn’t recommend getting a horse as it ended up costing around 1500 birr (£50) for the day for two horses. I am sure it is possible to get them cheaper but there was only one guy in Buyit Ras that had horses for us to use.

The views from Buyit Ras to Sankaber are stunning. One of the best parts of the whole trip was coming across a huge group of Gelada Baboons. They are huge monkeys and it is a brilliant experience. It is amazing how close you can get to them without them showing any interest in you.

Getting a GoPro selfie with a big old Gelada baboon.

During your time in Ethiopia, you will often get young children trying to sell stuff to you. I saw them selling things from umbrellas, home-made slingshots, other handicrafts and bottles of fizzy drinks. I bought a slingshot for around 10 birr but it is down to you if you want to buy something. Our scout often told the kids to clear off in Amharic which did the job of stopping them from following us.

Once we arrived at Sankaber lodge we explored its vast grounds. Apparently, it is the largest and best lodge in the Simien Mountains. We moved our kit into our sleeping room and had an afternoon of rest. The room was fairly large with 12 single beds and bedding. We didn’t travel with sleeping bags and didn’t need them at any point of the trip.

We were told that there was no food available in Sankaber but we found this to be false. With some persuasion, we ended up getting hot drinks, an evening meal of rice and a breakfast of bread and porridge. It cost a lot more for food in Sankaber than Buyit Ras but there was no other choice. A more switched on traveller would bring enough food for the whole journey. Us un-prepared Yorkshiremen did not do that and paid the price.

Day Three- Back to Gondar and Sickness

As we were short of time we couldn’t push out another day of trekking. We did get to see the ever so impressive Jinbar Waterfall. Do not miss this. It is simply stunning.

Simply stunning, the Jinbar Waterfalls.

We hitched a lift back to Gondar with an American couple who had planned and paid for their trip to the mountains through a tour company. It made it very cheap for us to get back but was just a bit of good fortune.

On the way back to Debark we spotted the Ethiopian Wolf. It is one of the world’s rarest canids and Africa’s most endangered carnivore.

We spent the rest of the day and night in Gondar. That afternoon we took a stroll around the vibrant town of Gondar. Lonely Planet told us to visit the castle so we did. We even paid for a tour guide to take us around for an hour. If travelling on a budget, having a guide isn’t necessary.

The castle in Gondar.

The American couple we hitched a lift back with recommended that we visited the Debre Berhan Selassie church. This is a beautiful, small and ornate church. Well worth the trip to the top of the hill to view it.

In the evening we went for some food at the three sister’s restaurant and then went to watch some Ethiopian dancing. If you have never seen Ethiopian dancing it is well worth a visit to a local bar where dancers will often be performing. The best way to find out the top place to go is to speak to the locals.

Just outside our hotel in Gondar were these stalls with local bananas and corn.

It is best to forget the last 24 hours of the trip. Like many people who visit Africa I got some D & V. Actually, we both did. That was us written off for the next day. The fourth day was spent getting an internal flight back to Addis then getting a flight back to Cairo. We won’t be the first and we won’t be the last tourists that get sick in Ethiopia. I’m not sure exactly what caused it but after 24 hours I was pretty much back to normal.

What to bring?

We were both woefully unprepared for this trip. I had limited clothes that were suitable for trekking in the wet season in Ethiopia. We had not really planned on coming to Ethiopia so the only clothes we had were for the Cairo summer. I stopped in a local shop to buy a semi-waterproof jacket and got absolutely ripped off as I had to pay faranji prices. I ended up paying 1300 birr for this pretty rubbish jacket.

Top tip. Bring everything you need with you.

I would recommend bringing:

At least a few hundred US Dollars. Most nationalities need to buy a visa at the airport which is actually pretty easy. Change currency to Birr at the airport.

1 x rucksack

Decent, sturdy shoes for rough terrain. I used some trail running trainers and these were sufficient.

1 x lightweight sleeping bag

1 x lightweight roll matt

1 x lightweight waterproof jacket

1 x warm layer

1 x t-shirt

1 x pair of shorts

1x trousers

3 x pairs of socks

2 x 1ltr water bottle or camelback and water bottle

1 x Tupperware box (always good for carrying food)

1 x lycra undershorts (I find these to be more comfortable than boxers and they prevent chaffing)

1 x head torch

1 x jet boil or stove

Electrical stuff with appropriate chargers, solar chargers or power packs

Camera for those amazing views

This is a rough and ready list but is a good start. Don’t pack too much. Keep the weight down where possible.

We had a great time in Ethiopia. I would love to return to the country as there is so much more to see than the snapshot I can provide here.